The Hindu Business Line : On growth track

A file picture of Mr K.M. Mammen (left), Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Ltd, and the Tamil Nadu Industries Secretary, Mr M. F. Farooqui, exchanging an MoU in the presence of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi, for a Rs 900-crore green field tyre plant at Perambalur near Tiruchi. Mr A. Raja, Union Minister for Communications and IT, is also seen.

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A multi-product special economic zone being developed by GVK Infratech Pvt Ltd, part of the GVK group, and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, a State Government undertaking, is expected to give a major boost to industrialisation in Perambalur district in Tamil Nadu.

The special economic zone is part of the State Government’s efforts to promote industrial development in this backward and dry district.

Perambalur was formed after the trifurcation of Tiruchi district in 1995, and the Government believes that the SEZ will lead to industrial growth in the next few years. Simultaneously, the infrastructure in the district is also set to improve.

Some of the major industries in Perambalur are now in Ariyalur district after the reorganisation, because of which Perambalur, though centrally located and well connected by road, has remained backward and dry.

Multi-product SEZ

The GVK group was selected as a developer for the SEZ through a bidding process, with the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation being a partner in the venture.Land acquisition for the SEZ has reached the final stages and over 2,600 acres have been acquired.

The SEZ would be a huge complex with about 2,930 acres spread over the five villages of Pennakonam (South and North), Thirumanthurai, Peraiyur and Eraiyur, some 20 km away from Perambalur towards Chennai.

Mr A. Raja, Perambalur M.P. and Union Minister for Communication and Information Technology, has said that the Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi, was likely to lay the foundation stone for the SEZ and the Government medical college to come up at Perambalur by end of October.

The land acquisition notification for the remaining land is to be issued soon.

The SEZ was expected to generate more that 50,000 jobs and come as a boon for the unemployed youth of this district.

It is expected to attract investments to the tune of about Rs 5,000 crores over a seven-year period.

The SEZ will cater to industries such as textile/garments, leather, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, power, IT/ITES, iron and steel, fertilisers, chemicals, petrochemicals, floriculture, horticulture, electronics and communication.

Joint venture

A joint venture between GVK and TIDCO, the project would come up through a special purpose vehicle (SPV), GVK Infratech Private Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd.

The SPV with its core team will execute the process of development and infrastructure along with other project related activities such as operation and maintenance of roads, water supply, common effluent treatment plant, warehousing, marketing of developed land to domestic/global investors and providing assistance for domestic/export marketing to user industries.

The project has received in-principle approval from the Board of Approval of the Union Ministry of Commerce.

The final approval would be obtained once the land acquisition process is completed, Mr. Raja said.

Tyre manufacturing plant

He said work has commenced on construction of the MRF’s tyre manufacturing plant coming up in the district with an investment of about Rs 1,000 crores.

The plant is expected to go on stream in about a year’s time and it would also generate a good number jobs.

The district has got quite a few private educational institutions in the recent years.

The Bharathidasan University has opened a constituent college in Perambalur .

A government medical college along with a hospital would come up at Odhiyam village where a 26-acre site has been identified off the Perambalur-Ariyalur Road. The college was expected to start functioning next year.

A sum of Rs 10 crores has been sanctioned for upgrading the primary health centres in the district, Mr Raja said.

Apart from this, the Tata Foundation has sanctioned nearly Rs 10 crores for strengthening the infrastructure in government hospitals in the combined Perambalur district.

Highway

Four-laning work on the Chennai-Tiruchi National Highway was also on at a fast pace. Once completed, Perambalur would be accessible from Chennai in about four hours.

Though the district was once notorious for drinking water shortage, the entire district has been provided with potable water supply from the Cauvery .

“Perambalur is the only district that is entirely provided with Cauvery supply,” says Mr Raja.

Once the Jayamkondam lignite power project comes up in the neighbouring Ariyalur district, the entire region would leap forward in industrial development.

It would also shed the stigma of being a backward region, both economically and socially.

More Stories on : Infrastructure | Economy | Tamil Nadu

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